Town continues to investigate pigeon problem solutions

Town staff is continuing to look for ways to deal with Kirkland Lake’s pigeon problem. During the January 29th council meeting, Councillor Eugene Ivanov presented a notice of motion asking council to have further discussions “on pigeons and the penalties for people being caught feeding them.”

In a written response town staff stated “Staff have posted to social media and sent notices to affected areas detailing the issues with continuing to feed the pigeons.

“There are remaining problem areas. We have discussed this with the OPP and the first line of defense is that affected neighbours must come forward to file a statement or the legal process does not go forward. The health unit and OPP are both aware that the situation remains serious and are providing advice and guidance.

“It is likely that this will remain a long-term issue within the community that ultimately depends on the people not feeding the pigeons and taking responsibility of removing nesting opportunities on their properties.

“The short-form ticketing was recently approved at a reduced rate of $100, instead of the $250 requested by Council. With the lack of a By-law Enforcement Officer, the OPP has proceeded to ticket repeated offenders.

The report went on to say “we have reviewed alternative options to dealing with the pigeons. We are not aware of professional pest control services that would work on a municipality wide basis in the north however we will continue to investigate this.

“There are also budgetary and political factors to consider in terms of eradication efforts. In terms of political factors, we have to consider the potential opposition that the municipality will face by environmentalists for conducting a broad based and sustained cull as well as disposal issues. If Council so chooses, a report to council can be brought back for consideration at an upcoming meeting to present the alternative options with costs associated.”